OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — City officials declared the lack of pot a
public health emergency following the closure of one of the largest medical
marijuana clubs in California.

A 5-4 vote by the City Council on Tuesday night allows officials to develop
alternative ways to sell marijuana to about 2,200 patients cut off from the drug
at the Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Cooperative, which was closed Monday by court
order.

``We're definitely making history,'' said Jeff Jones, executive
director of the club. ``It's another time the city has come out and allowed
patients to keep their rights.''

California law allows use of marijuana for medical purposes under a
proposition approved in 1996, but federal law forbids distribution of the
substance.

Councilman John Russo voted for the measure despite his fear that Oakland
``will be portrayed as a place that wants to have a big hippie party.''

City officials in San Francisco and Berkeley in the past have declared
medical emergencies to allow the distribution of intravenous needles to drug
users to curb the spread of HIV. But no other city has passed a measure to
allow use of marijuana for medical reasons.

It was not immediately clear what impact the gesture would have. City Council
members said they would be wary of getting involved in the distribution of
marijuana.

When U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer issued an injunction in May barring
six Northern California clubs from distributing marijuana, Oakland city
officials responded by designating marijuana club officials as city agents,
invoking a federal law that protects state and local officers from liability
while enforcing drug laws. But Breyer said the club was violating the drug law,
not enforcing it.

A possible alternative would be to designate city property for the harvesting
of marijuana by patients with doctor's recommendations, Jones said. He said a
less likely possibility would be for the city to hire people to distribute the
drug.

The club, about 60 percent of whose members have AIDS, closed Monday after
the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected its request to remain open during
an appeal of a Breyer ruling last week ordering the club shut down.

``Marijuana allows me to sleep, allows me to eat,'' said Ken Estes, a
quadriplegic who had purchased pot at the club. ``Without marijuana, I'd be
dead,'' he said.